The present invention relates to a collapsible boat hull which can be readily collapsed for ease of transportation and readily erected for use.
It is known to provide collapsible boat hulls, comprising a pair of hingedly interconnected bottom panels and a pair of side panels hinged to the bottom panels. Such boats can be collapsed and folded along the hinging edges of the panels into a substantially flat configuration. Typically collapsible boat hulls are also provided with a stem member functioning as a transom, a bow member, and seats which are mounted onto the boat hull when the boat hull is in an erected configuration. It is important that the junction between the boat hull and the bow member, and the boat hull and the stem member, are leak-proof. Provision is generally also made to mount an outboard motor on the stem member.
Some collapsible boat hulls are provided with rigid stem members, while others are provided with diaphragms that can accommodate rigid panels, which rigidify and stabilise the diaphragm when an outboard motor is mounted thereon. The stress exerted on the boat hull by the outboard motor mounted on the stem members, however, has meant that it has not previously been possible to use outboard motors whose power exceeds about four horsepower.
Further, the collapsible boat hulls of the prior art, when arranged in their erected configuration, are generally flexible rather than rigid, leading to poor handling in the water.
The present invention attempts to overcome at least in part some of the aforementioned disadvantages.